News: White House Photo Caption Removes Gay PM’s Husband
President Donald Trump has been getting the lion’s share of media attention because of the antics he’s been pulling during the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) conference in Brussels, Belgium. Now, even the White House has snatched the spotlight from a lighthearted moment.
Last Thursday, spouses of NATO leaders were gathered together for a photo op. Among the spouses was Gauthier Destenay, the husband of Luxembourg’s gay prime minister Xavier Bettel.
Aside from Destenay, the photo included First Lady Melania Trump, First Lady of France Brigitte Macron, First Lady of Turkey Emine Gulbaran Erdogan, Queen Mathilde of Belgium, Ingrid Schulerud, Desislava Radeva, Amelie Derbaudrenghien, Mojca Stropnik and First Lady of Iceland Thora Margret Baldvinsdottir.
However, the White House’s Facebook page caption for the photo initially omits Destenay, reading: “First Lady Melania Trump poses with Belgium’s Queen Mathilde, center, and other spouses of Nato leaders: First Lady Emine Erdoğan of Turkey; Iceland’s Thora Margret Baldvinsdottir; the First Lady of France Brigitte Trogneux; First Lady Melania Trump; Slovenia’s Mojca Stropnik; Bulgaria’s Desislava Radeva; Belgium’s Amélie Derbaudrenghien, and Norway’s Ingrid Schulerud, during their visit Thursday 25 May 2917 [sic], at the Royal Palace in Brussels.”
The omission quickly caused a furor online, with Twitter users saying that the White House did it on purpose. Scott Bixby of The Daily Beast even called it homophobic.
Is there a reason the @WhiteHouse didn’t include the First Gentleman of Luxembourg in this photo caption?
Like, a non-homophobic one? pic.twitter.com/W89mQzFDaq
— Scott Bixby (@scottbix) May 27, 2017
The White House finally changed the caption 10 hours later. It now reads: “First Lady Melania Trump poses with Belgium’s Queen Mathilde, center, and other spouses of NATO leaders: First Lady Emine Erdoğan of Turkey; Iceland’s Thora Margret Baldvinsdottir; the First Lady of France Brigitte Trogneux; First Lady Melania Trump; Slovenia’s Mojca Stropnik; Bulgaria’s Desislava Radeva; Luxembourg’s Gauthier Destenay; Belgium’s Amélie Derbaudrenghien, and Norway’s Ingrid Schulerud, during their visit Thursday, May 25, 2917, at the Royal Palace in Brussels.”
According to People Bettel and Destenay were married in 2015 after Luxemborg approved gay marriage. The pair previously entered a civil partnership in 2010. Bettel became prime minister in 2013, after a campaign where his sexual orientation was a non-issue.
Other openly gay heads of state before Bettel include Iceland’s former prime minister Johanna Sigurðardóttir, a lesbian, and Belgium’s Elio Di Rupo.
What do you guys think about the removal and addition of Destenay’s name from the White House’s photo caption? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below!
I’m so sick of the gay people around me getting triggered and offended by everything. By being offended and histrionic over the slightest of slights people are showing their lack of intelligence, but more importantly every time the media sees gays as triggered, outraged, and histrionic, we all lose 10 years of civil rights progress. The world wants to dismiss gay people as drama queens and those among us who lose our shit over everything only demean us.
Who cares whether this was accidental or intentional? No one gives a rat’s ass about who the leaders of various countries are fucking.
Well Said.
Moreover, show people photos of the Supreme Court Justices, Former President and Vice Presidents ( 1960-2017), current Senators and Congressman, whom represent their State, and Conngresional Districts, and the majority of folks wouldn’t know the majority of these individuals.
They would get a great big ” F ” in Civics, but would score an A + , in Kardashian’s , Ru Paul’s Drag Race, and other silly reality TV, etc.
As far as the ” First Lady- First Husband ” photo, the caption should have read, The First Ladies, and First Husband. Folks across the Globe, should know their leaders spouses, and AAA+ to anyone for knowing, more than one spouse, other than their own leader.
Clearly another anti-gay Trump White House slur. His true colors come thru day after day.
I used to what CNN and was addicted to it, but I thought I’d give Trump the benefit of the doubt and now I think the news is just slattern. He is the least homophobic person ever in the White House, he went to Elton John’s wedding and was pro gay marriage when Hillary and Obama were against it. Give up your bashing of this man and give him a chance! The economy is doing better and growing faster than it has with any president in the first 100 days, and I have changed my mind, I no longer think he is the way I did before, but I now think the media is lying. I just turned off my cable, and stopped watching the news, I now get it directly from the source, Trump!
I’m more worried about, jobs, the economy, health care, terrorism, etc than this trivial crap
And they can’t even get the date right.
It’s a Catch22.
We point out the mistake, they say we’re whiners about everything. We don’t point it out & it’ll start them omitting us from more things in the future & treating us like they used to.
I agree. Shut up and just let the Drama go. The more that Mouth Opens up the further We are Set back.